Both Grace and Albert Poulter were born in England. It appears that Albert emigrated to Canada in 1908 and there is evidence that Grace (nee Chandler) emigrated in June 1921. At the time of Grace's emigration, the paperwork shows that Albert owned a farm near Balgonie, SK in the McLean District (RM 157 known as the Rural Municipality of South Qu'Appelle). The farm was worth $ 3,000 with $ 2,000 of personal items (presumably farm equipment) and that the farm had no loans outstanding. It is not clear how much land he had, but it shows his income as $ 1,500 per year.

At some point after Alf bought the farm, his parents moved in with him. Lee knew both of them before they passed. Grace had a deep English accent with accompanying laugh. Albert was a quiet man who had incurred some sort of back injury in the past and walked and sat with a noticeable bend in his back. He could sit for hours in a chair just staring forward.